From the Editor | October & November 2025
It’s officially fall, with various shades of orange and red leaves blanketing the ground. Oh, that’s only our fall decorations straight from the craft store! This is Texas after all, so we’ll just have to pretend the weather isn’t in the 90s anymore, and decorate until we feel like we’re festive enough for Halloween and Thanksgiving.
Inside this issue of Tex Appeal, we have some wonderfully festive stories, along with some very inspirational people who are making Central Texas a great place to call home.
Sabrina Young is featured on the cover. As the owner of Young’s Daughters Funeral Home and Bereavement Center, Young views her role in the community as a calling to serve others. Read all about her inspirational story here.
Another woman using her gifts to help others is Doree Collins, owner of Rockin’ R Retreat and Event Center. The center helps support Cultivate Academy-CTX, a micro-school dedicated to leadership, agriculture, and wellness; as well as the Un-Included Club Urban Farm in East Temple. Collins puts her entire family to work helping others in this feature here.
Vanessa Irino fell in love with the cute Casper the Friendly Ghost when she was only 5 years old. Over the years, she has amassed a sizeable collection, landing herself on the Guinness Book of World Records for the world’s largest collection of Casper the Friendly Ghost memorabilia. Find out why her collection room is her “safe space” here.
If you’re looking for some fall fun, Sweet Berry Farm in Marble Falls has just about everything you can think to do — pumpkins, hayrides, scarecrow stuffing and even a maze in the shape of the Lone Star State. Read about Sweet Berry Farm here and then visit all the way up to Thanksgiving.
And speaking of Thanksgiving, check out this article, where Tonya shares a personal account of visiting Boston during Thanksgiving. Find out how she spent her favorite holiday visiting the Freedom Trail, Mayflower II and even Plymouth Rock itself.
Sharon shares her decorating expertise here, with tips on creating your own fall decorations using items from your home or purchased inexpensively at the dollar store.
In her Neighbors feature, Amy highlights Operation Christmas Child, a project by Samaritan’s Purse, which sends gift boxes to children around the world. More than 10 million boxes are sent globally every year. Read about Operation Christmas Child and find out how you can make a difference this November during National Donation Week.
October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month. As a breast cancer survivor, military spouse Julie Moser took it upon herself to create Pink Warrior Angels, a nonprofit based in Copperas Cove to help pay the bills for those going through cancer treatment of any kind. Read all about this important Outreach feature on page 12.
As you can tell, this issue is full of inspirational stories about people in the local communities. Central Texas may not have cool weather or colorful fall leaves, but it does have wonderful people doing amazing things to help make the world a better place.
Brandy Cruz
Tex Appeal editor
editor@texappealmag.com